ZAGREB, Oct 14 (Hina) - Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have compatible economies which need a boost and to appear jointly on third markets, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said on Tuesday after talks with Bosnian Presidency chairman
Dragan Covic.
ZAGREB, Oct 14 (Hina) - Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have
compatible economies which need a boost and to appear jointly on
third markets, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said on Tuesday
after talks with Bosnian Presidency chairman Dragan Covic. #L#
The two officials met before attending the "Old Bridge in Mostar -
Symbol of Peace" exhibition at Zagreb's Klovicevi dvori.
Mesic said the talks focused on economic cooperation and touched on
the next session of the Croatian-Bosnian inter-state council, due
to take place in the near future.
Covic said the session would be held within two months and voiced
confidence it would be more substantial than the past one.
He announced for February a conference on investing in Bosnia at
which he hoped many Croatian companies would participate.
Opening the exhibition, Covic invited Mesic to attend the opening
of Mostar's reconstructed 16th century bridge next year. Mesic told
reporters he would attend.
In his speech at the exhibition, Mesic voiced confidence Croatia
and Bosnia-Herzegovina would share the satisfaction of the fact
that the bridge was finally being reconstructed.
Commenting on the oft-used phrase that "the war demolished the Old
Bridge," Mesic said he personally thought "the Bridge was
demolished by the distress of people who are unable to appreciate
what belongs to them or to others".
The medieval bridge was demolished on 9 November 1993 during the
Croat-Muslim conflict. In May 2002 an investigation was launched at
the Herzegovina-Neretva cantonal court in Mostar into three
members of Bosnia's Croatian Defence Council due to founded
suspicion that they destroyed cultural and historical heritage as
in shelling Mostar, their tank hit the bridge causing it to
collapse.
(hina) ha